Spiritual warfare: Who you are in Christ
An incorrect perception of who you are in Christ
I see it all too often; children of God who are feeling like failures, sinners, and guilt ridden. What does this do to a person? It strips them of faith, strength and causes them to feel hopeless and worthless. The exact opposite of what a child of God should be feeling like! If that isn’t bad enough, it also prevents them from confidently seeking out a love relationship with their heavenly Father.
If you see yourself as a failure, you will feel like a failure. Thoughts and perceptions are among the primary elements that affect our feelings. Demonic bondage is another cause for negative (depressive, fearful, etc.) feelings, but even demons like to play with our thoughts and often indirectly affect our feelings through our thoughts.
How do you deal with past failures?
First, you must stop thinking about your past. If you haven’t yet repented for the wrongs you’ve done, then do so now. Give it to the Lord, and leave it there. God does not want you to continually think about your sins. Even He has chosen to erase them from His memory:
Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
So if God put them to rest once and for all, then who are we to keep reminding ourselves of something that God Himself chose to forget? As a matter of fact, we are told to forget the things which are behind us:
Philippines 3:13, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
Second, you need to begin to look at the truth. You need to realize and grasp what Jesus has done for you, and realize that your sins are forgiven and never to be remembered again. They have been washed away from you as far as the east to the west:
Psalms 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
If our sins have been removed from our record, then what good reason do we have to continue beating ourselves up for them? Did the work Christ did on the cross for us mean nothing to us? It is important to realize the steep price that Jesus paid for our sins, so we can be forgiven (made right with God, as if we’ve never sinned). God wants us to approach Him with a clean conscience with no more remembrance of our past failures!
Hebrews 9:14, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Hebrews 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Why did God choose to make us new creations in Christ? Because He didn’t want our past to be a part of us anymore!
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
You need to see yourself as the new creation that you really are, instead of the person you used to be! If you have turned to God and repented of your sins, then they are removed from your account. So stop thinking about something that no longer exists on your record!
What does God’s Word say about me?
I was hand-crafted by the creator of the universe!
Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”My heavenly Father deeply cares about me!
Isaiah 49:15-16, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”My heavenly Father rejoices over me with great joy!
Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”There is no condemnation awaiting me!
Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”My sins are cast into the depths of the sea!
Micah 7:19, “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”I am no longer the person I used to be!
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”I am considered a son of God!
1 John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…”I am no longer a child of the darkness, but of the light!
Ephesians 5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”I am loved for who I am, not because of what I’ve done
Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
There is also a great list of Anti-stronghold Bible verses that I recommend verbally repeating to yourself daily to tear down various strongholds.
Additional reading